Here’s Exactly What The Color Of Your Pee Says About Your Health

Next time you pee, give the goods a looksee before you flush. The color of your urine can provide some interesting information about your health and dietary habits.

“I tell people to drink to clear,” Roger Sur, M.D., from University of California-San Diego’s department of urology, tells SELF. Assuming no other issues, the lighter your pee, the more dilute it is, meaning that you’re adequately hydrated.

Basically, no color is the best color. But of course, it’s not the only color. Here’s a handy guide to interpreting the tint of your tinkle. Keep reading below for more details.

Light yellow

Cloudy

If your pee’s got a dirty martini look to it, you could have a bladder infection. The cloudiness comes from mucus, tissues and proteins that are breaking down and coalescing.

Medium yellow

Looks like: Lemonade

You might be dehydrated. Time to drink some water.

Dark yellow

Looks like: Apple juice

Seriously, drink something, wouldja? Also, if you went heavy on B vitamins, that could be contributing.

Orange

Looks like: Tang

OK, now you’re really dehydrated and need water, stat. Orange-hued urine could also signal the presence of bilirubin, a yellowish byproduct of the natural breakdown of old red blood cells, warns Jill Buckley, M.D., also from UCSD. This could be due to a gallstone blocking the bile duct, which drains bilirubin, or to liver disease. Some medications for urinary tract infections can give your pee a vivid Tang-ling tinge.

Pink

Looks like: White Zinfandel

Did you eat a lot of beets last night? Because that could do it. But it could also be blood. “Just a drop of blood in urine turns it pink,” says Sur. While a general practitioner might wave that off as no big deal, Sur says that any blood in the urine warrants a visit to the urologist, as it could be due to infection, or an early sign of bladder cancer. (It probably isn't cancer, but better safe than sorry.)

Darker pink

Looks like: Cabernet

This could mean that there’s more than a tiny bit of blood in your urine, which could signal a potential bladder infection or cancer. Kidney stones, which about 10 percent of the U.S. population gets, can also cause blood in the urine, as can less common bladder stones.

Dark pink

Looks like: Merlot

OK, that’s a lot of blood. And what’s more concerning is that it could be old blood, which turns dark as it clots and breaks down. “The presence of old blood is very worrisome because it suggests a significant amount of blood,” Sur warns. It also could mean that whatever’s causing the bleeding has been around for a while. He always errs on the side of caution: If there’s a lot of (potentially old) blood, “I want to put a scope inside. As far as I’m concerned, it’s cancer until proven otherwise.”

Brown

Looks like: Coke

Certain drugs, such as the anti-malarial chloroquine and an antibiotic called metronidazole, can give urine a cola-like hue. So can bingeing on fava beans or rhubarb, according to the Mayo Clinic. That flat Coke look could also be caused by some liver and kidney disorders, or from exercising way too hard. Your muscles use myoglobin to capture oxygen for energy. If you overdo it at the gym and cause significant muscle damage, the myoglobin can seep out into your bloodstream and make its way into your urine, causing it to turn dark brown. Definitely see a doctor for a myoglobin urine test; too much myoglobin in the blood can overwhelm your kidneys and lead to kidney failure.

Blue/Green

Looks like: A Jell-O shot

It's possible that eating a ton of food tinted with artificial dyes can paint your pee in carnival colors. More likely, it's a side effect of medication such as Uribel, which is used to treat UTIs. The effect comes courtesy of the ingredient methylene blue. It's nothing to worry about. Keep taking your pills with lots of water, and enjoy the weirdness.